A Comparative Analysis of Fertility Intentions Among Student's Youth in Moscow and Vladivostok

This graduation work examines various aspects of the formation of reproductive intentions among students of some universities in Moscow and Vladivostok. Factors that influence the decision-making process on childbearing are analyzed. Using quantitative approaches to data analysis, we have considered and analyzed the factors that influence the formation of the reproductive intentions of studied groups’ students. The study of the formation of reproductive intentions through subjective questions concerning the value and behavioral characteristics of respondents is a relatively new approach to the analysis of reproductive intentions. 5 gender and value-oriented factors were obtained using factor analysis: family-value factors, traditional gender and egalitarian factors, consumption/survival factors, and individual success factors. Further, the obtained variables became the basis for constructing regression models for several dependent variables that reflect the reproductive intentions of students in Moscow and Vladivostok. The results emphasize the high importance of family-value factors for both groups of students, while the factors of individual success and consumption / survival factors were the least significant in the formation of reproductive intentions. However, it is worth noting that the influence of independent variables on dependent variables was the same for the students in Moscow and Vladivostok. The significant demand for children and family and the maintenance of traditional values in the organization of family and partnership relations led to an increase in the ideal number of children, as well as a decrease in the age of occurrence of demographic events. On the other hand, a respondent who actively agrees with egalitarian factors and is also focused on material well-being tends to designate fewer children as ideal, while the age of occurrence of demographic events will be higher. However, it is worth noting that there is the difference between the groups of students from Vladivostok and Moscow in reproductive intentions, it consists of a set of significant factors that influence the formation of students' reproductive intentions. For Moscow students, a greater number of factors were significant, including factors of consumption/survival. For students from Vladivostok, the most common factors were represented by traditional gender and family-value factors.